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July 2020

July 21, 2020

Dear COVID Diary: It Has Been 132 Long Days; Fear Hangs In The Air

Yes, Dear COVID Diary, it has been 132 long days. And I expect little change...

March 2020

March 19, 2020

The Grocery Store, Coronavirus Diary, March 19 2020

Who knew going to the grocery store could be so treacherous? I lay out the...

April 2018

April 06, 2018

Gleanings From Today’s Newspapers: From Sugar To Sumo With A Trump Stop On The Way

My retired pleasure: reading a couple of real newsprint newspapers each morning. The best avenue...

June 2017

June 23, 2017

Unanswered Prayers, God’s Silence and the Demand for the Instantly Miraculous

We demand in our prayers instant healing, instant riches, instant love, instant solutions to all...

May 2017

May 23, 2017

Unanswered prayer, lies and more lies

I left Evangelicalism mostly because of lies about how God answers prayer and keeps all...

July 2016

July 09, 2016

Did you pray and then walk away? You’ve done nothing.

Calls for prayer pop up immediately. Everybody's "thoughts and prayers" are posted in public places....

March 2016

March 23, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: When Will They Pray? Good Friday Meditations

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I have visited a number of churches in the last few years....

March 09, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: The Final Judgment and Church Demands

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: The Bible tells us that as Christians Jesus forgives us for our...

February 2016

February 02, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Why Can’t We Have an Ideology like ISIS?

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: Is there or should there be a push for an inter-faith message...

January 2016

January 27, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Facebook Fights and Prayers for the Dead

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I’m torn between being reactive and being Christian and taking the ‘high...

January 13, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Failed Marriages and Mental Illness

Dear Thoughtful Pastor: How does one trust this institution of marriage after a failed one? Oh,...

January 05, 2016

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Hate the Sin of Homosexuality or Assume Truth?

How can conservative Christians who believe that homosexuality is a sin support and show respect...

December 2015

December 29, 2015

Ask the Thoughtful Pastor: Disaster Tourists and Changing the Paths of Tornadoes

What motivates people to show up after disasters to do the rubber-necking thing? I call...

November 2014

November 04, 2014

Glory of Zion: A Whirling Dervish of a Service

Glory of Zion: The songs, repetitive in nature, continued during the healing, the congregation hearing...

March 2014

March 12, 2014

United Methodists: It is Time to Stop and Pray.

The battle over sexuality rages with new energy. The Just Resolution decision instead of a...

February 2014

February 24, 2014

Praying for Ted Nugent?

Like many others, I am so deeply troubled by the choice of both Texas and...

July 2013

July 27, 2013

Drop to My Knees, Steam, Wipe, Pray

The youth group had a lock-in last night. After helping with the food and snack...

March 2013

March 06, 2013

A Modern Take on Luke 15–Probably Heretical, Possibly Shedding Fresh Light on a Shocking Story

The Complaint A group of VERY IMPORTANT church leaders began to grumble about Jesus. "He...

December 2012

December 05, 2012

The Phone Call and the Novena

A dear friend of mine phoned earlier this evening. She refers to herself as my...

November 2012

November 27, 2012

Santa is NOT Jesus!

I love Christmas music. The great hymns and classical pieces fill my soul and some...

November 03, 2012

The Day Off and the Quotidian Tasks

I was watching one of those hoarding TV shows recently. I suppose they relax me...

September 2012

September 21, 2012

God Is Not Your Butler

In some of my multi-faceted reading, especially when looking for a column idea, I head...

September 09, 2012

“All You Can Do Is Pray.”

“All you can do is pray.” I said this to our Children’s Day Out (CDO)...

June 2012

June 10, 2012

Why It Matters: The Episcopal Situation in the North Texas Conference

Jeffrey Weiss, a reporter with the Dallas Morning News, has asked these questions concerning the...

June 06, 2012

Fight Like the Devil and The North Texas Annual Conference at a Distance

I had been formally excused from attendance at the North Texas Annual Conference this year...

March 2012

March 05, 2012

Questions, Questions, We’ve Got Questions

Last Tuesday, a group of people sat in a circle and we began an open...

February 2012

February 29, 2012

Soul Soil, Church and Garden

Last weekend, I pulled a couple of nice fat green onions from the garden to...

July 2009

July 12, 2009

Purists and Potterers

Despite my best efforts, a rosebush planted this spring in the backyard of the parsonage...

May 2008

May 28, 2008

Does God Listen to Our Prayers?

Just a little while ago, I was sitting at my desk in the church office...

October 2007

October 22, 2007

Two Prayers–and a Problem

Two people want to pray. People can certainly pray anywhere, but these two decided to...

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